Acceptance
by MBSAVfan1
Summary: When a member of the forgotten pirate crew washes ashore on the island, injured and in need of help, Peaches wishes to take him in. Her family allows it, with the condition that she cares for him and maybe get him to join the herd, or at least not against them anymore. Despite her efforts, Squint seems to be having a hard time letting go of the past. Will she soften his hard heart?
1. Chapter 1

**New story, yay! Enjoy! And I don't own Ice Age.**

Louis and I were heading down to the beach for lunch, and no, it's not a date! Just a nice meal between two close friends. "Yeah, whatever you say." Crash and Eddie had said. Why did they have to assume that, just because he'd confessed to liking me, that we were dating? That wasn't true… at least, not yet. I'm still trying to decided where I want to go with that.

As we were gathering melons from the secret patch that only Louis and I knew about, a groaning caught our attention. "Oh krikey." A heavily accented voice said. "What happened? I feel like I've been run over by the ship." We walked over to peak over the sand dune that the voice was coming from. There, at the base of it, laying pretty close to the water, a slightly familiar looking kangaroo, although I wasn't sure where I'd seen her before.

As she sat up, ringing out her ears, her hazel eyes widened. Plunging her paws into her pouch, she said "Squint! Gupta! Get outta there! I ain't yer mum!" and she pulled out two other animals, a badger and a small gray rabbit, tossing them down on the sand with an annoyed expression.

As the badger sat up, her eyes widened again and she looked slightly taken aback. "What?" he asked.

"Is seemed you've taken a bit of a blow to the head there, mate." He tilted his head confusedly. She guided his paw to touch the apple sized bump on the side of his head and his intense brown eyes got big.

That accent… where had I heard it before. I knew it had been awhile ago, but where? I had definitely heard her voice before. "Well I'm outta here." The kangaroo announced, starting to hop away.

"What? Wait! Raz! You can't just leave us here!" the rabbit called.

"Watch me." She responded coolly without looking back. The two chased after her, the rabbit even jumping up on her shoulder, but she simply grabbed him and tossed him away with an angry expression. Alarmed as he crashed down in the trees, I ran up, looking for him, carrying Louis in my trunk.

We found the poor guy laying at the base of a tree, and I quickly checked for a heartbeat. Thankfully, there was one, but it was faint. He must've hit his head pretty hard. Putting Louis on my head and picking up the unconscious rabbit, I cradled him gently and headed back to our large clearing in the forest, where we lived. We'd dug out a bunch of caves in the side of the hill for shelter when it rained.

Arriving, I instantly headed for my mother and father, who were chatting with Diego and Shira, their three cubs playing by their feet. "Mom! Dad!" I cried, rushing towards them.

"What is it Peaches?" my dad asked, detecting the worry in my life.

"I found someone in the forest." It wasn't a lie, just not the whole truth. "He's hurt. What should I do?"

"Well let me see him sweetie, and we'll see what we can do." Mom said, and I gently unwrapped the little rabbit. At the sight of him, they all gasped and lurched back.

"Get rid of him!" Diego said.

"He's dangerous!" Shira agreed.

"What? This little guy?" I rocked him a little with a soft smile. "But he's so cute! Who could he ever hurt?"

"Don't you realize? That's Squint!" Shira said.

"Who?" Louis and I asked at the same time.

"Remember a few years back, when you were taken by pirates?" Daddy asked.

I shuddered. "How could I forget?" I'd been absolutely terrified.

"Well that's one of them!" Shira said.

"This little guy?" I asked again. But… but how could that be? He looked so sweet and innocent in his sleep, how could he have been one of those vicious pirates that had taken me to get back at my father for who-knows-what? "But he looks so… so…" I just couldn't believe it.

"Peaches, go put him back where you found him. Or better yet, put him back in the ocean." I gasped. How could my father expect me to do something so harsh.

"But daddy! He'll die if I leave him alone."

"Exactly." He muttered bitterly.

Frowning, I held little 'Squint' protectively to my chest. I wouldn't do that! Never! He may have helped kidnap me, but everyone deserved a second chance. And beside, while he was injured, I couldn't just leave him alone. It was too awful to even think about. "Oh please, daddy, let him stay! I can take care of him, and maybe he's changed. He could be part of our herd! Please?"

"Well… he doesn't have any weapons, does he?" Shira asked.

"Um… I don't think so." I looked him over gently. All he had was a sea weed sash, but that was it. "No, not that I see."

"Then he's harmless. Squint's nothing without his knife." Shira said confidently. She laughed slightly. "I remember when I took it away from him for the day and wouldn't give it back." As she caught us staring, she shrugged. "What? It's funny the way his nose twitches when he's mad." I tried to envision him with a knife, but I just couldn't.

"Please daddy… Shira would know best anyway, please? We never even gave him a chance. And I doubt that _you_ were all best friend from the beginning." I said, nodding to him, and Diego and Sid.

"She has a point, Manny." Sid said.

"For the second time, he's actually right." Diego added.

Shira leaned over to "When was the first time?" he just shook his head.

"Fine… but if he does _anything_ to hurt _anyone_, he's gone. Got it?" I nodded eagerly, glad he got to stay.

"Come on Louis." I said, wanting him there because his gentle, sweet nature usually calmed anyone he was near. "We've got a patient to help. Then we'll have to get him on our side." I said, walking off, still holding him in my trunk. I could do this, I was sure of it. Who wouldn't want a family where everyone was accepted, no matter what? I could help him see that he could be part of our family, be loved, be wanted, actually wanted for who he was, and not his ability to throw weapons with great accuracy. How hard could it be?

**So, what'd you think? Good? Bad? Pointers? Reviews are always appreciated.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Yay! Second chapter! Enjoy! (still don't own Ice Age. Seriously, why do they make you put one of these on every chapter?)**

I gently laid the little guy down on a bed of leaves in cave I'd dug with Louis, in a different hill from all the others, for when I wanted to be alone or when we wanted to hang out together in a place where my always teasing uncles, Crash and Eddie, wouldn't find us. Louis was the only one that knew about it, and I trusted him fully not to tell.

Placing a large leaf over Squint for a blanket, I patted his head lightly, feeling an almost motherly love fill me. I knew he was older than me, but… with the almost childish innocence I saw on his face, I couldn't help but think of him as a young child. I didn't know why, but I did.

"Peaches?" Louis spoke shyly, keeping his voice soft and gentle, the way it always was.

"Yes Louis?" I inquired, moving to put a wet leaf on his slightly warm forehead.

"D-Do you really think we'll be able to get him to, you know… like us?"

"Well…" I wasn't sure how to respond. Truthfully, I wasn't sure. I mean, we couldn't _make_ him do anything. But… I didn't see how he wouldn't want to join our family.

With all those pirates surrounding him for so long, I thought he'd miss the loving environment of a happy, peaceful family. How could he not? Everyone needed love, everyone, no matter how tough they may be. Unless… he'd never had a family like that. But the thought was so unbearably horrible I pushed it out of my mind.

I wasn't really sure if we'd be able to convince him he would find that with us, though. I knew he _could_, but we couldn't force him to like us and want to be around us if he didn't want to. It was all up to him.

One of the reasons I'd stood up to my dad was because I knew he'd need love, he needed to be around people who understood him, who cared about him, and loved him unconditionally, no matter what, and loved him for who he was.

On that pirate ship, they'd probably only wanted him because he was a good fighter, like all the other members. They had very much needed skills for the crew to be successful, so the captain had let them stay. He needed to know what it was like to be wanted because the real _you_ was loved, not a staged version you created to please judgmental people, like the other members of the pirate crew.

Then again… they'd need that kind of care too. They were only wanted there because their skills could be put to use. I wanted to help all of them, let them see that here, they could be loved for who and what they were. Nothing less. But I would have to work on one at a time, see if this attempt was successful.

"Honestly? I'm not sure. He'll stay if he wants to, and everyone here's really nice. But… we can't _force_ him to. But I think we can, if we really try." I lifted him up and sat him on one of the dirt shelves. "But it won't be easy."

I gave him a pointed look, knowing he wasn't all that fond of challenges, because they could be unsafe. I wanted him to help, I really did, but I wasn't going to make him if he didn't want to. "Do you wanna help?"

"Peach, you're my best friend. I'll help you with _anything_ you need."

"Oh, Louis." I said, picking him up for a hug. "You are _so_ sweet." Sitting him on my head again, I wandered back over to our patient, who still hadn't awakened. I wasn't surprised. He'd taken quite a hit to the head. He could be out for days. I really hoped that wouldn't be the case; he needed the nourishment of food and water if he was going to stay healthy. I couldn't let him become sickly on my first day of watching over him.

Taking the leaf off his forehead and pulling the blanket up a little further, I decided Louis and I should head out for some fruit, thinking he might want to eat when he awoke. And we had skipped lunch in our haste to get him to our family for some much needed care. We were still quite hungry.

Returning as quickly as possible with a couple of the melons we'd picked earlier, I broke them open so we could eat the sweet insides. Putting a little of the juice aside in a folded leaf that I used to trap some of it, I slid a bit of it into our little guest's mouth, hoping it might satisfy him and make his most likely painful sleep a bit more comfortable. Tipping his body upward gently, making sure he swallowed it, I couldn't help but plant a small kiss on his forehead with my trunk, the motherly/sisterly love returning.

Turning back to my food to eat a little more, and to refill the little leaf (which had been glued around the edges with some tree sap to make it leak free). I scooped up a little more and placed it in my mouth, savoring the sweet taste and getting lost in my thoughts.

I was worried we wouldn't be able to tame the little rabbit's wild heart. I really wanted him to stay, although I really didn't know why (aside the fact that he was _really _cute. In that adorable younger sibling way), I felt something… entrancing about the small mammal by the name of Squint. There was just something about him that drew me in, made me curious, giving me a hunger to learn more. How could someone that looked so nice, so sweet and cuddly and innocent, be a member of a pirate crew, a band of violent, sea-braving warriors? It seemed like such a… _foreign_, unlikely concept, it almost made me want to laugh, except for the fact that the pirates seriously scared me.

I was startled out of my thought by Louis frantically repeating my name. "Peaches!" he tried once more, finally gaining my attention.

"What?"

He could only nod in the direction of the doorway. I turned and found a sight that was either scary or exciting, I wasn't sure which. Our patient was stirring.

**So was this one ok? Tips? Pointers? Ideas? What you did and didn't like? Please review.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Enjoy! Still don't own Ice Age.**

Squint's eyes slowly fluttered opened, although his vision was blurry and unclear, his eyes unfocused. His breathing light and kind of shallow, he noticed he didn't detect salt in the air. "Wh-Where am I?" his voice was a bit hoarse. He tried to sit up, but something warm pressed against his chest, holding him down.

"Don't move." A sweet, gentle voice drifted through the air. It sounded the tiniest bit familiar, but he had absolutely no idea where. He was too dizzy to try and think of where he may have heard it before. "I don't want you to hurt yourself more."

"Where am I?" he repeated weakly, letting his head fall back on the soft bed he was on as his vision slowly cleared. He found himself looking at the ceiling of a dirt cave, a few roots snaking around, and multiple shelves fashioned on the sides. He looked over and saw the face of a softy smiling mammoth, her bright green eyes filled with gentle love.

He knew that face, alright. It was the mammoth girl they'd kidnapped to get back at her father, Manny, he believed. He felt anger bubble in his veins at the thought of him, he'd sunk his home and ruined his life. Being a pirate was everything to him, even if it wasn't the… safest environment. Having to face tidal waves and large sea creatures on a daily basis was dangerous, sure, but to him, it was excitement, something he craved often. How dare they take him captive after having taken everything away from him?

"You!" he exclaimed, jumping up. His head suddenly filled with pain, and the room began spinning. His legs gave way, and Peaches was quick to catch him.

"Careful!" she exclaimed. "I don't want you to hurt yourself!"

He weakly glared up at her, but it was halfhearted, considering his head felt like it was spinning like a top. "You helped me, didn't you? When Raz threw me?"

She nodded, sitting him back down on his bed. "Why?" he asked, his voice holding nothing but pure curiosity, despite the anger that was still coursing through his body.

She turned to their rock table and grabbed a small part of the melon. "Hungry?" she asked. Not waiting for an answer, she handed it to him. He stared skeptically at it. "We're not trying to poison you." She reassured him. He still stared at it with disbelief and suspicion. "Fine, if you don't believe me…" she picked a piece of it off and ate it with confidence. "See? It's fine."

He sighed heavily and took a bite, despite his instincts screaming at him for being an idiot and eating the food of his enemy, but he hadn't eaten in days. He, Raz, and Gupta had somehow survived the boat crash a few years ago, and had been drifting around on a small piece of ice just big enough for them to all comfortably lay down on. Then, they'd been hit with a huge storm and had lost all the fruit they'd collected (which wasn't much), and had been searching for somewhere to dock for the last few days. He was starving.

Suddenly, his eyes widened. "What is this?" he asked.

"Melon." Peaches answered simply. She paused for a moment upon seeing his slightly confused face. "You've never had melon before?"

He shook his head with a curt "No." they may have helped him and gave him food, but she was still the enemy, and he didn't plan on making small talk with her. As soon as she was gone, he was out of there. He needed to find his teammates, make sure they were alright so they could work on revenge. They _had_ ruined their home after all.

"Hey, um, I know this is sudden, but… are you still mad? About before?" she asked hesitantly.

'_Gee, ya think?'_ he wanted to snap, but for some reason, he didn't feel like yelling. Maybe it was because of the slowly dulling ache in his head. He just kept quiet, not wanting to talk more than necessary, and he didn't trust himself to attack her, despite his knife being gone, which he noticed with carefully hidden dismay.

"Look, I- I'm sorry about your ship. Daddy didn't mean to, I'm sure. He just wanted to come back to the family." '_Family'_ he thought bitterly and with distaste. Although he would never admit it, he was a teeny, tiny bit jealous that her father cared about her so much. His parents never had. They'd left him when he was very young. But he didn't have time for self-pity. He was still angry at them for taking away the only home he'd ever known. He wouldn't allow himself such emotions as pity and sorrow. It would only complicate his life further.

Seeing his frowning face, she tilted her head slightly to the side. "What's the matter?"

'_Besides the fact that I'm actually having a _conversation_ with a sworn enemy, nothing.' _He thought sarcastically.

He just shook his head in answer. She shrugged. "Alright, you don't have to tell me. Anyway, now that you're done" she took the shell of the melon and sat it behind her on the table. "You should probably get some more rest. I think you might have a concussion."

Before he could protest, she picked him up so she could get him to lay down. As much as he hated to say it, or even think it, the warm, although brief, embrace, felt kind of good. But just a little bit. He wanted to protest, but he couldn't bring himself to. "If you won't sleep, at least take it easy and don't move a lot. I don't want it getting worse. Ok?"

He just rolled his eyes irritably. She, assuming that was as close to a yes she was going to get, put him down and covered him up again. "Stay here and don't try moving around. I'm just gonna go check in with my mom and dad. Alright?" he didn't respond, just sat there with his arms crossed. "Ok… I'll be back. Louis" she picked the little molehog up off her head and place him on the ground beside Squint. "Keep him company, would you?"

He nodded with a nervous "Sure."

Smiling, she ruffled the fur on his head. "Good." She patted Squint gently on the head and walked out. Louis turned to the rabbit, unsure. Even if she would be back in less than ten minutes, it would seem like a long time with the tense, anxious atmosphere. _'Oh_ _boy…_' Louis thought.

**What'd you think? I know, not much action, but I wanted to cover some of Squint's thoughts on this. Ideas? Pointers? Good? Bad? Tell me, I need some guidance.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Enjoy. Don't own Ice Age.**

As soon as Peaches appeared in the doorway, Louis dove into the ground and burrowed away as fast as he could. He knew it seemed cowardly, but that rabbit seriously scared him. With the intense eyes, hard expression, and angry, tense aura that emanated off of him, how could he _not_ come across as intimidating?

Louis could kind of understand why Peaches wanted so badly for him to be excepted; she hadn't been for a long time by the children her age (excluding Louis, of course) and didn't want him to suffer the same feelings of pain and hurt and loneliness that she did.

After Louis left, Peaches sat down and watched her guest with great curiosity, waiting patiently for him to make the first move, figuring he'd need to at least get comfortable with talking with her before introducing him to anyone else. And how better to begin then to have him start a conversation with her?

As much as he tried to ignore her expectant stare, her piercing, kind green eyes seemed to draw him in, they seemed to look right at his soul and read every last detail about him with every glance. And with every blink, it seemed she was looking through it again, so you never got rid of the strange feeling that she knew your every secret, even the ones you locked deep, deep, _deep_ inside you. Deeper than deep, in fact.

After a while, he caved. "Why are you staring at me like that?" he exclaimed, exasperated. It was quite unnerving, former pirate or not.

She responded calmly with a soft voice, hoping to keep him in a generally good mood. Or at least, a slightly non-violent one. She'd gathered from Shira that that was an improvement all by itself. "No reason. Just want to talk to you."

"So talk." He snapped bitterly, sudden feelings of anger and slight annoyance making him seem irritated. She'd also retrieved the information that he had a hot, incredibly _short_ temper. Just saying something could anger him immensely, so she wasn't surprised.

"That's the thing. What's the point of talking to you if you respond?"

"So just stare at me instead, because _that_'ll help." He growled sarcastically, not liking her perky, positive attitude.

"I had to get your attention somehow." She stated simply.

"Then why not just say 'Hey, I want your attention.'?" He asked, irritated, becoming more and more so by the second.

"Because I didn't feel like it." She responded cheekily. "And it worked, so what does it matter?"

He ground his teeth in an attempt to keep from losing his self control and having at her, despite not having a weapon. "It matters because-"

"And I'm still waiting for you to make the first start of communication. You can't just stay quiet the whole time you're here."

He threw his arms up. "If I talk to you will you leave me alone?" he yelled, fury and annoyance bubbling up and spilling out. At this point, his ears were sticking straight up, like the way they always did when he was seriously peeved or agitated, and he was a little (ok, a lot) of both. And, of course, his nose was twitching.

Peaches bit her tongue to keep from smiling and cooing at how cute he looked like that. She remembered what Shira had said. Call him cute and he'd end you. He'd done it to a couple prisoners in full blown, uncontained rage.

She nodded in response to his question. After calming his heavy breathing, he asked "What do you wanna talk about?" in a flat voice that said '_I really couldn't care less. I just want to get this over with_.'

She shrugged. "I dunno. What about your family?"

He mentally cringed, he hated that subject. It just made him angry and secretly sad. To think that he hadn't been wanted (or had but they didn't have time for a child) filled him with rage and devastation, but mostly rage. Seeing him glaring hard at the floor, she changed the subject. "Ok, touchy subject. What about… well, tell me about being a pirate. Was it really nice, or did you just play along so he wouldn't kill you?"

He shrugged, although he found himself answering honestly. "A littla' both. It _was_ fun, and I loved it more than anything…"

"Why? How could you have been happy with all that violence all the time?"

"That was the way things were. I just, ya know, went with it. You know if I'd said anything else he woulda gutted me like fish, right?" he looked at her with a serious expression.

"Yeah, I guess so…" as an awkward silence crept up, she cleared her throat. "Uh, continue."

"Right… I liked being around all the weapons, it was exciting. That's what I liked about it most."

"That's it? All you want is excitement?" she asked, perplexed. That's why he stared there? He sacrificed a safe life on dry land only for a bit of excitement? Didn't he realiaze he could find that on land too? He just had to look in the right places. '_And this island sure has a lot of it.'_ Peaches thought. '_It's anything but dull around here.'_

"More than anything." He said, getting a faraway look in his eyes, remembering some of the incredible things that had happened on that ship. His favorite was when they'd tied Gupta to the mast and wouldn't let him down all day. Now _that_, that was funny.

"So… if you found excitement somewhere other than the ocean, would you stay there?"

"If there was enough, maybe…" he seemed oblivious to what she was hinting at, still lost in his memories.

She got up and headed for the door. "Don't go anywhere. I'll have Shira and Diego hunt you down." Despite the fact that she sounded like she was teasing, she was dead serious, and he could tell, although he was only partially paying attention. "Ok?"

He just nodded, still spaced out. She rolled her eys up towards the ceiling and shook her head with an amused smile. She may not have bonded with him a lot, but at least she'd gotten him to talk. That was at least _progress_, right?

**What did you think? Like the little bonding moment/conversation. Please review. And uh, one thing. Does anyone **_**else**_** have the problem that some of the reviews don't show up in the review box? I get alerts for reviews on my phone, but some aren't showing up. Any ideas on how to fix that… and for the story? Oh, and anyone that reads my Survival at Seas fanfic, I could use some inspiration.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys, I'm thinking this story'll be done in the next few (5-7, I'd estimate) chapters. But don't worry, I'm already planning on a sequel. I'm thinking of doing a series of stories, with Peaches trying to get the whole crew on their size. Votes on who should be next? I was kind of thinking Raz and Gupta, since they're already on the island somewhere. Anyway, I would set up a poll, but I'm not sure how. So send me your votes in the reviews, or PM me if you want. Enjoy the story, and I don't own Ice Age.**

After two weeks of Peaches constant care and affection, Squint was feeling much better. His head still had that ever present dull ache in it, but it was becoming weaker and weaker by the day. Peaches could tell he was healing; fast. He grew more talkative and energetic by the day. He had warmed up to her quite a bit, considering they were former enemies. He wouldn't call them friends _quite _yet, but they certainly got along and talked quite a bit. They had their little arguments, but that was to be expected. Nobody could get along perfectly, after all.

He was still restricted to the cave-clinic area, which he wasn't too happy about. She said she'd take him out for a walk today if he could stay standing up without getting dizzy, but she hadn't showed up for the daily visit yet. But he knew she would. She always did. And she'd promised. He knew her well enough now, she wasn't the type to break a promise. And if she did, by some horrible miracle, she'd do her best to fix it.

She was a sweet girl, with a gentle soul and a loving heart. She was always kind to him, she never yelled, she was never strict or rude and made sure he had everything he needed, food, water, everything. And he could tell she liked him and gave him a chance, despite their… ah, _unfortunately_ complicated past. He figured that if he was kidnapped at such a young age, he'd be terrified of the person that was responsible for such. But she didn't seem scared in the slightest, she truly believed he could have changed, that he deserved a second chance to be trusted.

He liked that, but he also thought it would get her into trouble one day. If she always gave everyone a second chance, no matter what their past, she might end up trusting the wrong person and end up getting herself seriously hurt, or worse, killed. He shuddered at the thought, as much as he hated to admit it, he had grown kind of fond of her.

But one question stuck out above all. Why? Why did she help him? She could've just left him there to die for revenge, but she didn't. He was confused by this. He would've done the same thing… right? Sometimes he worried she'd softened his heart. Whether she was nice or not, he shouldn't have been so attached to her.

So why was he? Ah, another why question.

Why had she shown him such kindness, such affection, such compassion? Wasn't she supposed to hate him? They were enemies, and enemies hated each other. Enemies enjoyed the others unhappiness, despised their presence, wished for their upmost discomfort and pain. Right? So why did she treat him so kindly and go to such lengths to help him recover from his head injury? And why did he find himself thinking so fondly of the teenaged mammoth? Why did he yearn for her to be there next to him, to talk with him and keep him company?

He didn't understand this, because he could still feel the anger writhing about underneath all those positive feelings, waiting for the right moment to strike. He would admit, despite having taken a liking to the girl, he was still mad her for- no, that was incorrect.

He wasn't mad at _her_, it was her _father _that infuriated him so. He had sunk his home, and tore apart the only family he'd ever known member by member. Sure they were a very rough family, one filled with violence and multiple fist fights here and there, but still, a family. Thy all knew that, even if they'd never acknowledge the fact.

But after Gutt's death, they'd fallen apart. They argued, they fought, and _not_ in a friendly way to pass the time/settle arguments. Really fought, and probably would've killed each other if they hadn't had the others to drag them apart. Without Gutt to keep the peace between them all, they grew apart. He missed them, no denying that.

He missed Flynn's happy, positive attitude, although it did annoy him more often than not. He missed Silas' ways of switching between French and English when he spoke, and Boris silent, brooding aura. But he missed Gupta and Raz the most, seeing as they had been closest. He missed the Australian and Russian accents, Raz's short, explosive temper that wasn't too different from his. He missed the way Gupta would sometimes turn his w's into v's when he spoke. He wanted nothing more than to see them again.

A voice startled him out of his thoughts. "Hey, you ok?" Peaches stood there, concern written all over her face and her cheerful green eyes gently asking if something was bothering him or if he was just deep in thought.

"I'm good." He said.

"Oh I wouldn't go _that_ far." She teased. "Shira tells me you were quite the bad boy."

He tensed at the name but didn't say anything, laughing lightly at her little joke. He still had a score to settle with the saber toothed tigress, he felt. He had a bone to pick with her for abandoning their family. She was supposed to be in charge. Seeing as she was the First Mate, she was set to replace Captain Gutt if something were to happen to him like it did. Sure he had been appointed First Mate in Gutt's hasty rage, but he wasn't prepared for the role.

He had acted excited, which he kind of was, about it, but it was mainly to keep himself from being, well, gutted. And besides, no one listened to him anyway. He was more of a follower, he wasn't made for leadership. He'd rather stand _behind _the one in charge, throwing knives and acting as a reinforcement and immediate source of violence. If she had stayed with them, they might've stayed together and still been happy together, as a family.

"But seriously, what's wrong? And don't lie to me." That was one of the few downsides of staying with her. She knew him very well, and she could tell when he was lying.

"Just… thinking. About the others." He said, choosing his words carefully.

"What about them?" she asked curiously, sitting down.

"I wonder where they're at, what they're doing."

"You miss them, huh?" he turned to look at her with a raised eyebrow. If he didn't know better, he'd swear she could read minds and emotions.

He eventually nodded, seeing no point in trying to hide the truth when she already knew it. "Yeah. I mean, they were the only family I ever had and…"

"Yes! Finally!" she pumped her trunk excitedly. At his questioning look, she explained. "You've never said anything about your family, and now I know why. _They _were your family." Her expression became sad. "I- I'm sorry about that. I know you're still upset."

Ok, that was the last straw. "Seriously, how do you _do _that?"

"Um…" she chuckled nervously, a bit unsure. "Do what?"

"You always seem to know exactly what someone's going to say or before they say or what they're saying. How?"

She shrugged. "I dunno. I guess… I don't know. It's always just been that way, I guess. I'll have to ask my parents about that."

He tensed at the mention of the adult mammoths. Well, the male, but still. Every time he heard some reference to him, the anger bubbled to the surface, coming above the feelings of happiness he got when he was around Peaches.

She winced slightly when she saw his shoulders raise slightly as his muscles became tighter. "Uh anyway…" she took a deep breath. She didn't really want to ask the next question, but she knew it would make him happy, so she forced herself to. "You want me to help you find them?"

He took a sharp intake of breath and turned to her. Was she serious? Searching her face, he found that she _was_! "Really? You'd do that for me?" he asked. He had no doubt that Raz and Gupta were still furious with the girls' father and would get back at him the first chance they got, even if it meant hurting and innocent girl. Anything to get even. She'd put herself in danger just to make him happy?

"Of course. We're friends now. And friends help each other."

He blinked in surprise. Friends… She- she thought of them as friends? For some reason, it made him feel happy inside, all fuzzy and warm. He wasn't sure if he liked these quickly building feelings of joy.

**What did you think? Do you think I'm taking this too fast? If so, give me some pointers and I'll edit this and repost it, kay? Anyway, if you're with the idea of Gupta and Raz being the next for Peaches to try and befriend, make sure you tell me. Or if you have other votes, tell me. I'm happy to do any of the crew.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys, sorry to all you wanting to read another for Love of a Friend, but I can't seem to gte the confrontation scene right. I've tried at least five times, but it never comes out just right. I don't know what's wrong with me!**

**Maybe I'm just stressed, I start high school in three days. I'm so nervous!**

**Anyway, enjoy. And I don't own Ice Age.**

Despite Peaches offer to try and track down his friends, and the fact that he really, really, _really_ wanted to see them again, he declined. He didn't want them to hurt her. He liked her now, like a little sister. But… he still couldn't bring himself to not be angry with her father. He (kind of) wanted to forgive, but it was harder than you might think. He'd capsized and sank the only home he'd ever known, put his family members at one another's throats, and turned Shira against them.

"Squint." Peaches addressed him. It pained her to say this, but it needed to be done. "How would you like to go outside?"

He sat bolt upright from his place staring at the ceiling, eyes wide. He had been wanting to ever since he got here, but she wouldn't let him, fearing he'd hurt himself. "You mean it?"

"Well, yes. But I have one condition." He swallowed. What if he couldn't pull off what she wanted?

"What's that?" having lived with pirates for over ten years, he knew to expect highly when someone wanted something in return for something else.

"Just… promise me that if you get dizzy, or anything like that, you'll tell me. Ok?"

That was all she wanted? Wow, she didn't ask for much, and he could tell it was because she had his best interests at heart, something he still pondered upon. "P-Promise…" the word felt weird in his mouth. He hadn't had to _promise _something in years. Back on the ship, they fully trusted each other, if someone asked something of you and you said you'd do it, they knew you would. They didn't have to get confirmation.

She smiled brightly. "Good." She wrapped her trunk around him and gently set him on the ground. When she headed for the door, she asked teasingly "Think you can keep up?"

"Count on it." He replied.

She showed him around the forest, and he was amazed at all he was missing when they'd visited before. He'd never had time to enjoy all the sights that were to behold; the rainbows arching over the waterfalls, the meadows filled with flowers as far as the eyes could see, lush, colorful plants with so many exotic colors, it was almost overwhelming.

"I know, right?" she asked. "That's what my face was like when I first started looking around."

He was amazed and shocked to the point where he couldn't move. She smirked at this and picked him up and sat him on her head. They walked down to the beach, Peaches showing him the numerous tide pools. All the colorful coral and fish and everything else… it twisted his mind I more ways than one. He had been to the island many times before, but he'd never once realized the beauty of it all.

Guess that's what happens when you visit with pirates, he reminded himself. He sighed as the thoughts of the crew entered his mind. He used to be so loyal to them, now he felt himself almost wanting to stay with his enemies. Almost. Peaches was nice, and had shown him great kindness, but… he just couldn't let go of the past. The thirst for revenge was still great and strong.

He wanted the mammoth to know the pain he'd put him through. He wouldn't like it if _they'd_ turned one of his family members on _him_ and made the others angry with each other to the point where they tried to fight to the death. _He_ wouldn't appreciate his family suddenly being blasted into unknown waters by a huge whale, nearly drowning them in the process, would he? He wouldn't want _his_ family ripped away from him in a storm and possibly never see them again.

So why did he do it to him?

As they walked, Peaches suddenly felt an unknown texture under her foot. Curious, she stopped and looked to investigate. Squint was farther up on the beach, not having noticed her halt.

There, half buried in sand, sat a small bone knife. Taking a sharp intake of breath, she quickly picked it up and hid it in her hair. She didn't want him to see it. Shira had told her it was one of the few things he cared deeply about.

She feared that if he saw it, he'd forget about her and run off to find his friends. She'd always wanted a sibling, and he was like an older brother. One that was much smaller than her, but still. She cared about the little rabbit now.

"Hey, uh, Squint?"

"Yeah Fruit Slice?" he called back. She rolled her eyes at his nickname for her. She didn't know where he'd come up with it. Well, the fruit part, sure. But… oh, who cared? Either way, it stuck. And he was the only one that called her that.

"Uh, i-if you… um, got the chance to go _back_, would you?"

"What do you mean?" asked, reaching into one of the tide pools and started terrorizing the little fish that swam around.

"If you could… you know, go back and change everything, so that Shira never… _left_, would you?" she didn't want to say betrayed.

His head snapped up. Part of him, the violent, blood thirsty side wouldn't have hesitated. But… the part that had grown to love the mammoth girl like a little sister wasn't so sure. He admitted, it did sound appealing. Shira would've still been on his side, they would've been still happy. Captain Gutt wouldn't be dead. But… did he really want that?

He'd seen the captain's true colors. He was cold hearted and abusive and cruel with no sense of mercy. All the time on the ship, he thought he really cared. He thought he really was loyal to them, but he discovered when he'd threatened to kill Shira that he wasn't that great after all.

But still… he _had _saved his life all those years ago. He knew it was only because he was interested in having him on his crew, but still. There was a small part of him that still looked up to the evil ape, a part of him that wanted to be exactly like him, the part that would always be forever grateful to him for saving him from drowning. After all, if he hadn't he wouldn't have met any of the best friends he'd ever had, his previous shipmates... or Peaches.

But he couldn't help it. He'd been trying to prove to the captain that he was just as good as Shira for ten years. They always undermined him and underestimated him and teased him because of his small size.

Then again, even though he was happy with the exciting, brutal pirate life, he knew he was happy here with Peaches too. He liked both lives, but one, the first option, was unavailable, because Gutt was dead. That was another thing that angered him. Gutt was the closest thing he'd ever had even remotely close to a fatherly figure, having been abandoned when he was very small and being raised by an aunt who indeed loved him, but was much too busy to give him proper care and attention.

Without the pirate crew, he really had no family, and no home…

He eventually shook his head. "No. Wouldn't a' done much good. We woulda' met anyway. Fate's like that." He may have been rough, and formerly evil, but his aunt taught him the ways of Fate, a thing she strongly believed in. It rubbed off on him, he supposed.

"Ok… good." She sighed with relief, expression quickly becoming pained though. "And, since you wouldn't…" it had been a test she'd prepared, and depending on his answer, she'd decided whether or not to give him the weapon and trust him not to hurt her.

She reached into the top of her hair-do and slowly pulled out the knife. She placed it in his hands, his intense brown eyes going wide.

"Here. I found it earlier. And… if you wanna leave now, I'll understand. You're healed now, so I don't have a reason to keep you in the cave."

He was surprised when she had to wipe water away from her eyes. "I'll miss you Squint." She whispered, voice hollow.

Then she turned to leave.

**Don't worry, this isn't the end. They aren't being separated for all eternity or something dramatic like that. But there **_**will **_**be one final conflict, just so you know.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys, final chapter! Yay! Oh, and I just thought I should mention, this entire series that I'm working on was inspired by the Ice Age We Are Family music video. It makes it seem like they're all a family in it. Anyway, I wanted to explore that a little more, see what I could do with it. Oh, and uh, question. Do you want me to include Gutt in one of the later stories? I know he was probably killed by the sirens, but I'll make a story with him like this if you really want to. But I won't if nobody wants me to, so let me know.**

Squint stared down at the knife in his paws, then looked up at the slowly retreating mammoth. He could hear the soft sobs coming from her, she was obviously having a hard time with the departure, but she wanted him to be happy, and she knew he wanted freedom.

He looked down at it again, before shifting it into one hand, twirling it a couple times like he used to. It made him smile a little, it was comforting to have something from his past life. But… but what about Peaches?

He clenched his fingers tighter around it. He wanted to just run away with it, and be free with his blade again, go find his friends and have a happy reunion. But… he couldn't help but think about the teenaged mammoth. She had helped him; without her, he'd be dead.

He closed his eyes, bowing his head and letting his thoughts clear. After a moment, they snapped open, full of determination. He glanced down at his blade one more, before slowly turning and chasing after her.

"Hey Peaches! Wait!"

She slowed and stopped, turning around with watery eyes and tears slipping down her cheeks. "What?" her voice was fragile and a bit hoarse in misery.

"I-" he stopped, unsure what to say. He knew what needed to be done, but he wasn't sure how to voice it. "Look, I- I get that you…" he took a deep breath. This was harder than he thought. "I kinda want to stay too. But…" he wasn't sure if he was ready to… to give in to the present occurrences and let go of the past, so he could live happily with his new 'little sister'.

"But?"

"I just… I don't know if…"

Her hopeful expression fell. "O-Ok. I understand."

"No, it's not that I don't want to. I just… I don't think I'm ready for…" he winced inwardly at her now hurt _and_ slightly angry expression.

"So you don't want to be around me, is that it?"

"No! It's just that I don't think I want to see your dad y-"

She gasped angrily and narrowed her eyes, frowning. "Well, if that's what your problem is…"

"_My_ problem?" he demanded, temper flaring. "You think _I_ have a problem? Says the girl who thinks she's half possum! You. Are. A. Mammoth! There's no changing that!"

Her eyes widened, looking hurt. "I guess Shira was right." Her voice was fragile and broken, tears in her eyes. "I can't trust you."

She turned and ran. He, realizing what he'd said, smacked his forehead. "Aw man… Wait! Peaches!" but she was gone. "Oh great. Just… _great_."

Peaches cried as she went through the forest. She didn't understand. One minute they were happy, the next they were being separated, and the _next _they were fighting. Why was this so complicated? She wanted him to stay, but she also wanted him to be happy. And if he couldn't be happy staying with the herd…

She wiped her trunk under her eyes, trying to stop the water flow. Crying certainly wouldn't do her any good, but she couldn't help it. She loved all of her friends dearly, and the possible loss of one broke her heart. She and the little rabbit were close, almost as close as she and Louis, but not quite. Nobody could replace the molehog's place in her heart as her best friend. But he came close, she'd grown really attached, having spent most of every day for the past few weeks with him. They'd formed a bond.

And with a few harsh words going back and forth, just like that, the bond had been severed. Broken. Ruined. As much as she hated to admit it, she was guilty as well. She _had_ said goodbye to him and basically told him to go without asking what he wanted. She'd always just assumed from the way he would stare longingly at the outside world in the cave that he wanted to be free, to be outside again.

And he'd admitted that he did crave to leave the small area, but still. Maybe he just… she sighed. She didn't understand all these conflicts, but she wanted to.

Someone suddenly called out to her, breaking her train of the thought. "Peaches, wait!" Squint came up. "Please. Just gimme two seconds!"

She narrowed her eyes, still upset, but stopped her pace. "Look, I- I didn't mean- I was just…" this was harder than he thought.

"Mad?" she asked gently. He nodded. "I kinda was too." she admitted.

"Yeah… sorry 'bout that. Temper just gets the besta' me sometimes." He gave her an apologetic grin. "I really didn't mean it."

She sighed, all feeling of of anger and sadness disappearing all together. "I know." She was silent for a moment before picking him up for a hug. He squirmed slightly; she knew he wasn't a big fan of close contact, but she didn't let go.

He eventually stopped moving, knowing there was no getting out of it affectionate grasp. "Squint?"

"Yeah?"

"Will you be part of the herd? Please?"

"Well…"

"Please? Just try it."

He shrugged. What harm could just _trying_ it do? "Oh… I guess."

"Yes!" she put him on her head, giving him a final squeeze before releasing the little rabbit she had grown to love so much. "Come on, let's go home."

They did, and needless to say, he was nervous. What if he and Shira ended up fighting? What if he and the _mammoth_ ended up fighting? Peaches would never forgive him for that… eh, probably.

He honestly he wasn't sure which one was more likely. But that didn't calm his frazzled nerves.

"Hey, don't worry." She said, reaching up and smoothing his ears back against his head. "You'll be fine. Everyone's really nice, no one'll treat you any different from anyone else." Her tone, although soothing, just made him more nervous, her words bringing even more worries to his list.

He needn't of worried. Everyone _was_ extremely nice, and he and Shira, after she got over her brief suspicion, got along nicely, even better than they had on the ship. Before he knew it, he was having a pleasant conversation with her, both happy to see their old former friends.

After awhile, Peaches announced it was time for campfire, and it was something to behold. He'd never experienced one before, it was far too dry where he was from to risk it; it could've started an unstoppable wildfire that would've wiped out everything in a thirty mile radius. It was the first time in years that he'd felt warm not only on the outside, but on the inside as well. Happy.

Hours later, Squint was sitting on Peaches shoulder, when Manny decided it was finally time to head in for the night. "Squint, come on, we've gotta go." She said. When she got no answer, she nudged him slightly to see if he was awake. He wasn't.

Smiling softy, she gently picked him up, careful not to wake him, and carried him to their family's sleeping tree. Setting him down on a soft bed of leaves and putting a leaf over him for warmth, she hung upside down by her tail and draped her trunk over him. He subconsciously curled up tighter under it. She smiled and shook her head. Still as innocent looking as ever.

Caressing his face slightly, she kissed his cheek with her trunk and finally closed her eyes. And that's how his night ended, warm from his new friend, new family, dreaming happy dreams and having the most pleasant sleep he'd had in a long time.

And he was happy.

**Ta da, that it! What you think of the ending? I didn't take it too fast did I? Anyway, don't worry. I'll have the first sequel chapter up in a few minutes, I just need to re-read it one more time, just in case.**


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